Hi all,

My wife is suffering from baby blues after the birth of our second child. She had the same thing after the first child so luckily we saw the signs and got help in time. She is now on an anti-depressant but it was suggested that I also take them in order to take the edge off and help us to cope.

Now I have never in my life taken an anti-depressant and believe that they are too easily prescribed in this day and age but perhaps it is a good idea at the moment. My wife has just lost her job and is trying to start her own business and my job is very unstable at the moment, add to the mix a new little baby and a 3 year old and a serious shortage of money. I am not trying to complain at all and I know that we will come out of this better people than we were before but it is stressfull. :doh:

My question is thus: Will anti-depressants affect my workouts or bulking progress in any way? Good or Bad for that matter...

I will ask my doctor too but was just wondering if anyone here has had any experiences.

Will they affect your workouts?

Yes, that is definitely the primary concern. Pay no attention to the fact that you are casually talking about taking an extremely powerful drug to "take the edge off."

I don't want to sound hostile, but what the hell.

SSRI's, the primary form of antidepressant medications prescribed (and primarily from general practitioners and not psychiatrists, I might add) are based on a rather sketchy premise backed up by rather disturbing research. SSRI's were pushed through the FDA and onto the market despite inconclusive evidence that they legitimately help the conditions they are prescribed for, and despite a laundry list of both temporary and long-term side effects which include nervous ticks, muscle spasms, many types of sexual dysfunction, memory loss, early onset of senile dementia, and perhaps most interesting of all: depression and suicidal thoughts.

A few years ago the FDA was forced to publically acknowledge that they had been in posession of data for years that showed that SSRI's can actually increase depression and in many cases worsened suicidal tendencies in patients.

I had the disturbingly good fortune to grow up in a fairly affluent area surrounded by families who felt very comfortable doping up their children. As such, I have a lifetime of experience watching people I care about experience serious issues as a result of antidepressant use.

For example: My ex-girlfriend, who I was with for almost 5 years, doesn't remember us dating in high school. She knows that we did, but she can't describe any of it. It wasn't until her first year of college that I was finally able to convince her to get off of her medication (Zoloft). It was like she was a totally different person after that, and she's spent every year since then starting over from scratch and trying to work through the problems that she effectively ignored while she was drugged. The difference in how well she was able to communicate and organize her thoughts compared to when she was on an SSRI was amazing, but despite that improvement she still suffers side effects. The jitters and nervous ticks that she had all through school have gone, but she has the memory of a 60-year-old. She would constantly forget conversations that we had, things she'd read, etc. Nothing as severe as the massive chunk of high school that simply doesn't exist in her memory, but still disturbing.

Your wife was just pregnant, meaning that her hormones have been on a rollercoaster. This will have some very noticeable mental and physical side effects, things that can easily be helped out with proper nutrition, exercise, and supplementation. B-vitamins and Fish Oil have both been shown to have significant impact for many people suffering from prolonged depression.

I'd also like to mention that these drugs ARE habit-forming, and it is highly recommended that users taper off of their dose rather than stopping abruptly.

For more information I suggest checking out www.prozactruth.com, or reading the extremely well-written book Prozac Backlash.

I agree that antidepressants are overprescribed.
I finally broke down 3 years ago after suffering from moderate panic disorder which lead to depression as a result. I would force myself to be a functional member of society by going to work everyday and hang out with my friends despite having a few full blown attacks a week and near full blown every day.

In any case---I didnt like Effexor, the only antidepressant I ever took for a couple months. First of all, the side effects were bizarre to say the least, not to mention having to go through them all over again, times 10 when I tried to get off Effexor (so yes, I think they'd affect your fitness training negatively.) I think that it really hit me, while the next 6 weeks passed for me to feel normal again, how much that drug had affected my brain. The brain zaps, swooshing, stuttering, freako dreams, vertigo, memory problems and intolerable sensation of needing to jump out of my skin (restlessness) were just some of the affects. Not to mention failing to find anything funny, feeling 'flat' and spacing out for rediculous amounts of time. Oh and I also experienced a really fascinating episode of sleep paralysis one day, now that was weird. Besides that, it only helped slightly with the panic attacks and depression. I also began to wonder if I'd have to take these for the rest of my life or if there'd be some kind of rebound effect if I stopped taking them.

It may have it's applications--I'm sure there are some people out there who were genuinely helped by it, but for most there are probably alternatives. If anything antidepressants are not a silver bullet.

All I can tell you is that they shouldnt be taken lightly.

I'll agree that antidepressants shouldn't be taken lightly. If there is a real issue that needs to be addressed, then surely consult with a doctor. I'd suggest reading up (http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/depression/treatment/antidepressants/index.asp) on the signs of depression, and what choices there are for working through it. I wouldn't let anybody elses experience with one or two medications be a deciding factor on whether or not you should, or whether or not you might see any benefit. Would they effect your training? Yes...they would. Would it be a positive or a negetive effect? That depends...what's your reference point?
Keep in mind that the WARNING on the label about possible increased thoughts of suicide are real. Also...it can take months or even longer to find the correct dosing of the correct medication, to address the initial problem. But...antidepressents have helped a great many people to live the wonderful lives that they were meant to live.

I've never taken anti-depressants as I'm pretty much anti-medication for the most part anyway, so take this for what it is worth.

Pills are not going to cure money issues and whatever else may be going on. I didn't go through the baby blues after having my son so I don't have an opinion about that. I spent 2 hours in surgery after labor, so my focus when I brought him home was figuring out how to get out of bed without causing myself any pain.

I think that communication and keeping things real is the better way to go. Judging by the experiences that a close friend of mine had with anti-depressants, ADD meds, ect... I wouldn't touch the stuff with a 10 foot pole.

Yeah, reality sucks sometimes but it's better to deal with it honestly now than having it bite you in the face later. The meds may or may not compound things, so ask yourself if it's really worth it in the long run.

I usually don't open my book toooo much. :) But paxil really helped me, i probably wouldn't be typing this right now without paxil and this site in alot of ways, which i learn alot about fitness. I was always athletic and really enjoyed being in shape but i was in very bad shape, physically, for close to 5years.

Getting in shape certainty was a big part of me crawling out of my hole along with paxil.

Now folks, don't go thinking i'm a wuss!! :D

I usually don't open my book toooo much. :) But paxil really helped me, i probably wouldn't be typing this right now without paxil and this site in alot of ways, which i learn alot about fitness. I was always athletic and really enjoyed being in shape but i was in very bad shape, physically, for close to 5years.

Getting in shape certainty was a big part of me crawling out of my hole along with paxil.

Now folks, don't go thinking i'm a wuss!! :D

I don't think you're a wuss, but I am curious about something.

Was it really the pills, or was it the simple fact that you channeled your energy and got control over yourself?

Now folks, don't go thinking i'm a wuss!! :D

No way. Congratulations.

i probably wouldn't be typing this right now without paxil

That's scary to think about.

Now folks, don't go thinking i'm a wuss!! :D

Like those wussy asthmatics with their "inhalers" or those wussy diabetics with their "insulin". Yeah, right. Nothing a swift kick in the ass wouldn't cure. :rolleyes: :p

...

I think you can gather from the above where I come out on this issue. I think that antidepressants are both overprescribed and underprescribed and I really wish that talking therapy could be a hand-in-hand requirement for the use of such drugs.

Depression is a vicious cycle and when it gets to be severe enough to impact a person's daily life they could use some help to get back to a normal rythm of up and down moods. The pharmacological help available nowadays is awesome and, along with therapy, can restore a person to a full state of perceived normalcy much faster than either method alone and dramatically faster than no intervention at all.

There's a cornucopia of antidepressants out there. Go to a Psychiatrist for an assessment of the problem and an explanation of the drugs available and their possible side effects. Please include therapy with a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, or Social Worker as part of your treatment program and establish with your Psychiatrist a target date for getting off the AD's.

M@

and establish with your Psychiatrist a target date for getting off the AD's.

M@

Brilliant :)

Tom Cruise does not approve of this thread.

Yeah you're asking for doctor advice from us. Even if someone had been taking anti-depressents it would effect their workouts much differently than it possibly would yours.

Not that I agree with the complete anti-drug stance of a lot of people the first poster is right that you should not be worried about it effecting your progress and should be looking towards larger general health issues and consulting with a doctor as to what is right for you.

Perhaps this information (http://www.astonishedhead.com/images/OVOID_123.swf) will help to put things into better perspective. :whistle:

Great point M@. I guess that's partially what I meant by antidepressants not being a silver bullet. We all here know about the synergistic effects diet and different forms of exercise have on body composition, for instance.

I found Cognitive Behavioral Therapy especially helpful.

Almost forgot this thread - i don't know if paxil was the main factor but i remeber just feeling better by just looking for help. I also got into serious fitness and i'm currently studying for a diploma that will give me a job that i will actually like, and people in the industry have told me its an upper end paying job, that didn't hurt either. :) Its very much math, electrial and physics focused, all 3 are my favorite disciplines.

They all help i'd say. :)

I think you have a good point M@, therapy should be apart of the treatment.